jailbird

[ jeyl-burd ]
See synonyms for jailbird on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a person who is or has been confined in jail; convict or ex-convict.

Origin of jailbird

1
First recorded in 1595–1605; jail + bird

Words Nearby jailbird

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use jailbird in a sentence

  • Joran van der Sloot is the latest jailbird to get romantic attention from women.

    Women Who Love Murderers | Barbie Latza Nadeau | June 23, 2010 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • There may have been some old jailbird called a King in the time of our grandmothers; but he belongs to history if not to fable.

    The Wisdom of Father Brown | G. K. Chesterton
  • Second, and a heap more important, because the jailbird had threatened Miss Beulah.

    The Sheriff's Son | William MacLeod Raine
  • It is not mysterious, it is not even odd, that a jailbird should take his gun to Pilgrim's Pond.

    The Wisdom of Father Brown | G. K. Chesterton
  • He had forgotten all about it in the excitement of being a jailbird, and I went and reminded him.

    Jill the Reckless | P. G. (Pelham Grenville) Wodehouse
  • The old man--hes the one we saw with those two suspicious jailbird-looking fellows down the line yesterday.

British Dictionary definitions for jailbird

jailbird

gaolbird

/ (ˈdʒeɪlˌbɜːd) /


noun
  1. a person who is or has been confined to jail, esp repeatedly; convict

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012